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AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: EVIDENCE BASED
TREATMENTS
Michelle M. Macias, MD, FAAP
Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
Medical University of South Carolina
Ashley Belt, M.Ed., BCBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Lowcountry Autism Foundation
DISCLOSURES
▸ In the past 12 months, we have no relevant financial relationships with the
manufacturer(s) of any commercial product(s) and/or provider(s) of
commercial services discussed in this CME activity.
▸ Dr. Macias does intend to discuss an unapproved/investigative use of a
commercial product/device in the presentation, which will be disclosed at
the time of discussion.
Learning Objectives
▸ Relate the current scientific support for educational,
behavioral, and medical intervention strategies for youth with
autism spectrum disorder.
Treatment Objectives
▸ Primary treatments are developmental and behavioral therapies.
▸ Decide what you are treating!
Core ASD Symptoms?
‣ Social Reciprocity
‣ Repetitive and restrictive behaviors (“RRB”)
Coexisting Conditions?
‣ Challenging/disruptive behaviors
‣ Affective Disorders
‣ Sleep disturbances
‣ Seizure disorders
‣ Others (GI, feeding problems)
What do we mean by “Evidence”?
▸ Factors to look for in a study:
‣ Homogeneous case definition
‣ Consistent dosing of product with consistent content
‣ Valid outcome measure
‣ Appropriate sample size
‣ Placebo group
‣ Double blind
▸ Hierarchy of evidence
‣ Randomized, double blind
placebo controlled
prospective trial
‣ Cohort studies
‣ Case control studies
‣ Case series
‣ Retrospective data analysis
‣ Anecdotal report
Grade BMJ, 2004
▸ Positive expectancy
▸ Participation affects caregiver behavior
‣ Therapeutic impact of research participation
‣ Parents looking for positive responses to a new treatment may be
engaging their children in more activities to determine response
‣ Sandler (2010) – Placebo as treatment for ADHD
Some Reviews that Grade the Evidence for Therapies for
ASD:
▸ Early intensive behavioral intervention (EIBI) for young children with autism
spectrum disorders (ASD). Reichow B, Barton EE, Boyd BA, Hume
K.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012 Oct 17;10:CD009260.
▸ Interventions for Adolescents and Young Adults With Autism Spectrum
Disorders [Internet]. Lounds Taylor J, Dove D, Veenstra-VanderWeele J,
Sathe NA, McPheeters ML, Jerome RN, Warren Z. Rockville: Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality; 2012 Aug.
▸ Management of symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorders: a
comprehensive review of pharmacologic and complementary-alternative
medicine treatments. Huffman LC, Sutcliffe TL, Tanner IS, Feldman HM.J
Dev Behav Pediatr. 2011 Jan;32(1):56-68
Educational and Behavioral Interventions
▸ ASD specific symptoms
‣Communication, social relatedness, RRB
▸ Coexisting developmental/learning problems
‣Cognitive/adaptive, academic
▸ Behavioral Challenges
Approaches to Treatment
▸ Educational/Behavioral Interventions
‣Early Intervention programs
‣ Intensive Behavioral Approaches: ABA, DTT, EIBI
‣Developmental models: DIR, Floortime, Denver
‣ Integrated models: TEACCH, Denver, SCERTS
‣Speech and language therapy
‣Occupational therapy
‣Social skills instruction
Educational Interventions
Characteristics of successful models:
▸ Early, intensive, individualized
▸ Teach adaptive skills
▸ Work on generalizing and maintaining skills
▸ Address behavioral treatment
▸ Provide inclusion with supports
▸ Provide objective monitoring
Behavioral Interventions
▸ Applied Behavioral Analysis
(ABA)
‣ Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
‣ Natural Environment Teaching
(NET)
‣ Errorless Learning
▸ Early Intensive Behavioral
Intervention (EIBI)
▸ Teach new skills by breaking
down into elements and
reinforcing
Differential reinforcement of other
behavior
Differential reinforcement of
communication
Token economy
Developmental Interventions
▸ DIRTM/FloortimeTM : Developmental, Individual Difference,
Relationship Based
▸ Relationship-Development intervention (RDI)
focus on teaching social communication, cognitive skills,
emotional relationships
Integrated Programs
▸ TEACCH: Treatment and Education of Autistic and
Communication related handicapped Children
▸ ESDM: Early Start Denver Model
▸ SCERTS: Social Communication, Emotional Regulation,
Transactional support
Speech-Language Therapy
▸ Designed to improve understanding of communication, use
language effectively
▸ Includes:
Social communication interventions
Can include parent-mediated intervention
Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS)
Signing
Social Skills Instruction
▸ Both traditional and newer naturalistic behavioral strategies to
teach social skills
▸ Joint attention training
▸ Social skills group interventions
▸ Peer mediated social intervention
Autism Spectrum Disorder Pharmacotherapy
▸ Goal is to reduce challenging behaviors and improve response to
behavioral and educational interventions.
▸ Psychotropic medication use in ASD is common. Frequency: studies range from 35-64%
Consistent findings: ↑ use with older age, presence of intellectual
disability or psychiatric co-morbidity, Southern US
Stimulants, alpha2 agonists, atypical antipsychotics, and SSRIs
most common (depends on age).
Autism Spectrum Disorder Pharmacotherapy
▸ NO medications approved for core symptoms
▸ Medications often used to treat related sx, such as depression,
anxiety, and aggression
▸ Stimulants, long acting alpha2 agonists approved for ADHD
▸ Risperidone and aripiprazole are FDA approved for irritability
▸ Anxiety: only duloxetine FDA approved (others only for OCD)
▸ Depression: fluoxetine, escitalopram FDA approved
▸ Individuals with autism are often very sensitive to adverse effects (as
are children with other disabilities), even at low doses.
Identify Target Symptoms
▸ ADHD type sx→ Stimulants, ATX, alpha agonists
▸ Maladaptive behaviors/Aggression/Irritability→ Stimulants, atypical
antipsychotics
▸ Anxiety, depression → SSRIs, atypical antidepressants
▸ Repetitive behaviors and rigidity (OCD) → SSRIs, clomipramine
ADHD symptoms (Inattention, Hyperactivity)▸ Stimulants:
‣ 50% response rate (MPH), ES 0.29-0.54, greater improvement at higher doses
‣ May benefit social communication, self-regulation
‣ Side effects similar to youth without ASD, but more frequent (18% vs 3.5% dropout)
▸ Alpha agonists:
‣ Guanfacine: 3 studies (RCT,open-label, retrospective) -effective in behavioral sx,
response rates 27-50%.
‣ Clonidine: 2 positive small crossover trials
▸ Atomoxetine: 2 studies (RCT) improvement in ADHD sx
▸ Risperidone: hyperactivity, supported by open label and RCT
Treatment for Aggression: Systematic Review
▸ Antipsychotics have the largest efficacy for aggression (Effect Size for
aggression 0.72)
▸ Stimulants have the next largest mean effect size (ES 0.60)
‣ Both methylphenidate and amphetamines
▸ Mood stabilizers: highly varied results, largely inpatient studies (ES 0.47)
‣ Lithium best (ES 0.63) and carbamazepine worst (ES 0.06)
‣ 1 outpatient study with valproate, inferior to placebo (ES 0.13)
Aggression, Maladaptive/problem behaviors
▸ Antipsychotics have the largest efficacy for aggression (Effect Size for
aggression 0.72)
‣ Stimulants have the next largest mean effect size (ES 0.60) if ADHD sx
present (MPH, AMPH)
▸ Risperidone, aripriprazole: Clinically significant improvement in irritability,
self-injurious behavior
▸ Marginal evidence for benefit with other atypical antipsychotics,
antiseizure drugs, psychostimulants (if no ADHD), naltrexone
▸ Alpha-2 agonists (clonidine) and N-acetylcysteine some improvement,
fewer SE than AA in small studies.
Antipsychotics: Evidence of Effect
▸ Various RCT of risperidone and aripiprazole
▸ Clinically significant improvement in: irritability, hyperactivity
▸ Inconsistent improvement in: anxiety, RRB, social withdrawal
▸ No improvements in: social relatedness, communication/language,
sensory problems
▸ 2009 RUPP study: risperidone + parent training superior to
risperidone alone
Repetitive behaviors and rigidity
▸ Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) use based on similarity between repetitive behaviors of ASD and symptoms of OCD.
‣ Best evidence is for fluoxetine (Hollander 2005)
‣ Negative citalopram study (STAART 2009), but used for anxiety
‣ Negative fluvoxamine study (2000)
▸ Clomipramine (seratonin selective TCA):inconsistent findings (better for OCD).
▸ Buspirone (anxiolytic, partial serotonin agonist): improved ADOS RRB score (2.5 mg BID)*
▸ Risperidone: positive secondary analysis of RCT, n=101 (2005)
▸ Valproate: positive small RCT (2005)
*Chugani et al. J Pediatr 2016
Are repetitive behaviors in ASD fundamentally different from behaviors in OCD?
Sleep
▸ Sleep problems are highly prevalent in ASD (44-83%)
‣ Evidence of abnormal melatonin regulation in ASD
▸ Sleep hygiene, behavioral management 1st line
▸ Limited data to support diphenhydramine, clonidine (small + study)
▸ Melatonin
‣ Clinical studies have shown some benefit
‣ Meta-analysis: duration by 73 min, sleep onset latency by 66 min
‣ Recommendations: start with 0.5, max 10 mg 1 hr before bedtime
▸ Iron
‣ Some data suggest low serum ferritin levels may contribute to symptoms of restless sleep
ABA: Learning Objectives
▸ Basic principles of ABA
▸ Behavior and why it happens
▸ Quick tips of the trade
Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
“The science in which tactics derived from the principles of
behavior are applied to improve socially significant behavior and
experimentation is used to identify the variables responsible for
improvement in behavior.” Cooper, Heron & Heward, 2007
First and foremost, ABA is a science and a discipline devoted to
understanding and improving human behavior.
Know your ABCs
‣ Antecedent: what happened before the behavior occurred? (I.e.: working
independently in a quiet space; “sit down”)
‣ Behavior: what was the individual doing? (i.e.: hitting, biting, kicking, ran
away, flop, crying with tears, etc.)
‣ Consequence: How did you respond to the behavior? (i.e.: redirect, gave
preferred item, first/then, continued to say “sit down”, provided prompts, etc.)
Antecedents Behavior Consequences
Bag of chips on the table “Chips” Mom hands the child the bag of
chips
Touched a client with the flu Wash hands with warm water
and soap
Germs removed from hands
Reinforcement and punishment
▸ Reinforcement: A stimuli that comes after a behavior and increases the
future likelihood of that behavior reoccurring.
▸ Punishment: A stimuli that comes after a behavior and decreases the
future likelihood of that behavior reoccurring.
‣Naturally occurring
‣ Individualized
Reinforcement and Punishment
Reinforcement Punishment
Positive
(+) think of adding
A preferred item/activity is GIVEN
after the behavior, making the
behavior more likely to reoccur.
An aversive stimulus is GIVEN
after the behavior, making the
behavior less likely to reoccur.
Negative
(-) think of subtraction
An aversive stimulus is
REMOVED after the behavior,
making the behavior more likely
to reoccur.
A preferred item/activity is
REMOVED after the behavior,
making the behavior less likely to
reoccur.
Bribery
▸ Bribery is giving the child something during the problem
behavior.
‣ For example, you are taking your child to the grocery store and
he/she begins to scream. The bribe would be saying, “If you stop
crying, I will get you a candy bar.” The child stops screaming. Did it
really work?
Motivation
▸ Why we do what we do
▸ This can affect what stimuli acts as a reinforcer
▸ We can manipulate motivation by using two basic ABA principles:
‣ Satiation
‣ Deprivation
Extinction
▸ Previously reinforced responses that are no longer reinforced
‣Vending machine
▸ Extinction bursts
▸ Spontaneous recovery
Define the behavior
‣ Make it measurable, observable and
clear
‣ My definition and your definition
of a behavior can be very different
‣ Prioritize
‣ focus on one or two behaviors at a
time
‣ Collect baseline data (scatterplot;
time sampling, frequency, duration)
Functions of behavior
▸ Sensory
▸ Escape/Avoidance
▸ Attention
▸ Tangible
Multiple functions are more than likely
occurring
The Mand
▸ The component of communication that teaches the child the meaning of communication
‣ It motivates the child to communicate
▸ Everyone communicates, even individuals without communication systems.
▸ How do you teach?
‣ Start with teaching only a couple of requests at first.
‣ Items and activities (go, up, banana, etc.)
▹ Avoid teaching generalized requests (more, eat, etc.)
‣ Requests should be easy and effortless for the child (gesture toward preferred item, one worded responses, etc.)
‣ Teach using the child’s favorite item/activity, but know that this item/activity should only be given to the child once he/she has made that request for the item/activity.
‣ Put those items that the child is requesting for somewhere out of reach in order to motivate the child to make those requests.
Demands
▸ Simple, clear and to the point
(“shoes”)
▸ Prompt (hand over hand, gesture,
model, visual cues) more
challenging tasks
▸ Be careful of wording
‣ “Are you ready to clean up?”
▸ Only place demands if you expect
follow through.
‣ Don’t tell a child to clean up, if in
the end you are the one cleaning
up the mess.
Visual schedules
▸ Daily Visual Schedules (activities that
will occur that day)
▸ Activity Visual Schedules (typically
related to a behavior chain (i.e. steps to
brushing teeth, getting dressed, etc.))
▸ Schedule preferred activities to go after
non-preferred activities rather than the
other way around. For instance, first
the child must brush his/her teeth, then
play on the iPad.
Transitions
▸ Use a “promise reinforcer” during transitions from preferred to non-preferred activities
Give choices
▸ Choices help motivate the child to follow through with the initial
direction
▸ YOU are in control of what choices are given
‣Should we wear the green or blue shirt today?
‣Did you want French fries or Cheetos with your sandwich?
▸ There will be times when a choice is not available (going to
school, the doctor, etc.)
Visual timers
▸ Help prep for a transition
▸ 1 minute, 30 seconds, 10
seconds
▸ might cause more anxiety in the
individual
‣ remove the timer altogether or limit the
warning to just one 10 second timer
Be proactive
▸ provide frequent attention
‣ Set a timer that goes off every 30 minutes or an hour to prompt you
to provide attention (you are playing so nicely, wow, look at you!)
‣ The more frequent, the better
‣ MotivAider, Repeat Timer (app store)
▸ make tasks easy by providing assistance
▸ sensory diet –consult with the child’s OT if applicable
▸ teach communication skills
Make a trade
▸ Telling the child “no” or “not right now” ‣ “No, you can’t have French fries right
now, but you can have Cheetos or Cheez-Its?”
▸ Giving up preferred items/activities‣ “We are all done swinging, but we can
go down the slide or jump on the trampoline.”
▸ Having to wait‣ “The French fries are not ready, let’s go
watch Mickey Mouse while we wait!”
Change your reaction
▸ Be careful with your reactions to
problem behavior
‣ Avoid too much eye contact and
extra verbiage (“It will be okay,”
“Calm down”)
‣ Instead use non-vocal cues
▸ Be consistent with your reactions
‣ Avoid threats
Survival mode...
▸ If you know that you cannot wait the behavior out, then reinforce
quickly.
‣ It’s better to come to a decision quickly and consider what you can handle
that day
▸ Think back to extinction…
‣ The quicker we can reinforce the behavior, the less likely the child will learn
to engage in that problem behavior for a long duration or even engage in
additional, harmful problem behavior.
▸ It reinforces the quick, more accepting problem behavior (crying,
whining, etc.)
One last tip…
▸ Give yourself a break and take
it one day at a time.
▸ “A failure is not always a
mistake, it may simply be the
best one can do under the
circumstances. The real
mistake is to stop trying.”
B.F. Skinner
Resources
▸ http://www.pattan.net/Videos/
▸ ABA Training Videos
▸ Search via parent, teacher, or therapist
▸ https://www.marybarbera.com
▸ Parent training (currently a wait list)
▸ http://www.behaviorbabe.com
▸ More about ABA
▸ http://www.iloveaba.com/p/free-resources.html
▸ http://theautismhelper.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/ABA-101-Handouts-
The-Autism-Helper.pdf
Resources, continued
▸ AAP: http://www.aap.org/cocwd
▸ Autism Speaks: http://autismspeaks.org
▸ CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.html
▸ http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm143565.htm
▸ http://nccam.nih.gov/
▸ http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/complementarymedicine.cfm
▸ http://www.aap.org/sections/chim/ClinicianResources.html
▸ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/complementaryand
▸ alternativemedicine.html
▸ http://autism.healingthresholds.com/
Selected References
▸ Huffman LG, Sutcliffe TL, Tanner IS, Feldman HM. Management of symptoms in children
with autism spectrum disorders: a comprehensive review of pharmacologic and
complementary-alternative medicine treatments. J Dev Behav Pediatr 2011; 32 (1), 56-68.
▸ Munshi KR, Gonzalez-Heydrich J, Augenstein T, D’Angelo EJ. Evidence based treatment
approach to autism spectrum disorders. Pediatr Ann 2011; 40(11): 569-574.
▸ Myers SM, Johnson CP; American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on Children with
Disabilities. Management of children with autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics
2007;120:1162-1182.
▸ Leskovec et al. Pharmacological treatment options for autism spectrum disorders in children
and adolescents. Harvard Review of Psychiatry 2008; 16:97-112.
Acknowledgements
Susan Levy, MD, FAAP
for the generous sharing of her slides and knowledge of EBM in ASD
All the patients and families that ask the hard questions we have to answer